For me the fun part of traveling, as I’ve mentioned before, is the planning. The very best part of planning is the final week. It’s the fun time because I am on the verge of something new, mysterious, and adventurous. But it’s a stressful time, too, tying up loose ends: work tasks, paying bills, saying goodbye to people, organizing pertinent information to take along and to leave behind, and packing, purging and re-packing. That’s the phase I’m in. I enjoy it. And I do little things each day to get myself in the mood: writing in the blog, breaking-in shoes, practice-packing, and even changing my diet. Usually before a trip anywhere I eat better; more vegetables. And I drink more water and less wine. I like this time before a trip. It’s the time I savor because I know that very soon it will all be over. And it’s the time I realize that I will not be the same person when I return as when I left.